“We have taken a twopronged strategy to end dependence on (fertiliser) imports. One is to raise efficiency of urea through neemcoating, which is expected to reduce consumption by 10%, or 32 lakh tonnes per year.Two, we are restarting closed fertiliser plants, which will add 75 lakh tonnes per year production,“ chemicals and fertilisers minister Ananth Kumar said on Thursday .
Kumar made the statement after he along with power minister Piyush Goyal and oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan reviewed the progress of the plan to restart fertiliser plants at Barauni in Bihar, Sindri in Jharkhand, Talcher in Od isha, Ramagundam in Telangana and Gorakhpur in UP.
Pradhan said PM Modi will lay the foundation for revival of the plants, and work will start after the monsoon.“For the PM, revival of these plants is not about scoring political points. He has taken it as a challenge and we are working to complete the task.Revival work is progressing apace and the plants will come on stream by 2020-21.“
According to Kumar’s maths, the strategy will not only make the country selfsufficient in fertilisers, it may leave some surplus too.The Centre has roped in Coal India Ltd, NTPC, IndianOil and GAIL for reviving the plants at a cost of Rs 30,000 crore. These companies have formed special purpose vehicles with state-run fertiliser companies for the purpose.
Additionally, GAIL will invest in pipeline infrastructure, while a liquid gas import terminal is being set up at Dhamra (Odisha) in joint venture the Adani group. All together, the cumulative investment will come to about Rs 50,000 crore. “Such a huge investment is rare in the history of eastern India and will boost economic activities and bring second round of green revolution in the region,“ Pradhan said.
|
New Delhi: TIMES NEWS NETWORK
|
